The Story Of Penny
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: Written for the 2011 BigBangBigBang at LiveJournal. Why Wyatt is also called "Bob", and didn't seem to care that she wasn't a boy in 4.09  why Penny hates Valerie Mossbacher, and more. Told with flashbacks during a Truth or Dare game set post season four.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my contribution to the BigBangBigBang 2011 over at LiveJournal. We had to write a fic of at least 15,000 words, it had to have a character from The Big Bang Theory be a main character, we had to have a beta, and we had an artist work on the fic as well. My good friend Amber (amtrak12) claimed my fic and has done a wonderful job with the art. A link will be provided, either in the final chapter or on my profile page within an hour of the fic's complete publication.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory or its characters. Most of the people in this fic outside of the main ones do exist in the TBBT canon and therefore are not mine.**

**I sincerely hope you enjoy.**

"And then we just decided to be mature and pretend that it never happened," Howard finished. "So, as you can see, the situation unfolded under many extreme circumstances that happened to occur at the same time. If one of those had not happened, the event in itself would never have transpired either. I think we should all agree that it is not a laughing matter and just" – he put his hands up – "leave it at that."

The room was silent for a few moments, and then Penny, who had just heard the full story for the first time and was still staring incredulously at Howard, spoke. "You slept with your cousin."

The rest of the guys burst into laughter again, and Howard put his head in his hands. "Guys…" He groaned.

"Aw," Bernadette said, sliding an arm around his shoulders. "Poor little engineer."

"Is that a children's book?" Amy asked.

"No," Penny said, shaking her head. "It's a true story." She smirked.

"Not the story of the Wolowitz Incest," said Amy. "That I firmly believe to be absolute truth. I was referring to the Poor Little Engineer."

"No," Bernadette said. "Not that I know of. It was just a term of endearment."

"Ah. You use those." Amy nodded slowly, and then turned and smiled at Penny. "That's why you're my bestie."

"Penny uses terms of endearment," Sheldon pointed out.

"Really? You're gonna go with that argument instead of 'bestie is a term of endearment'?" Leonard asked his roommate.

"You defend your girlfriend," Sheldon said, "And I will defend the homo novus equivalent. I know that Amy referring to Penny as 'bestie' is a platonic remark…"

"That's debatable," Bernadette said, smirking as she remembered the sleepover.

Penny glared at the other waitress while Sheldon pretended as if he didn't hear. "…whereas Penny's alternate names for Leonard, such as 'honey' and 'homunculus' have sexual undertones."

"God!" Penny and Leonard both said in disgust.

"And even after growing up in a Christian household, I've now managed to associate even that word with your insistence on having coitus with a disturbing frequency."

"Why don't you just say 'romantic' undertones," Leonard suggested.

"Yeah," Penny agreed. "Then everyone's happy."

"I'm sorry," Sheldon said. "How would that make me happy?"

"I suggest that you give in, Sheldon," Amy suggested.

"Why?" He asked.

"I sense it would make this conversation a lot more pleasant."

"Is that the goal?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Sheldon cocked his head, as if the thought never occurred to him. "Well then. All right."

"What would we do without you?" Howard asked Amy.

"I assume you would function much as you had before you met me," Amy said. "Most likely at the point in time just prior to meeting me. Sheldon as he was the night you told him about your impersonation, Rajesh and yourself as you were prior to contacting me under the façade of Dr. Cooper, Leonard as he was when he walked through that apartment door on the day of the first web chat I had with Sheldon, and Penny in the car on the way to that 'date' that she somehow decided that Sheldon and I needed to have." She cocked her head and looked at Penny. "Ironic as you are now my best friend, but you met me long after the rest of this room's populace did."

"Penny's late to the party on a lot of occasions," said Leonard.

"Example or examples?" Amy asked, looking at Penny. "And just so you know in advance, I prefer the latter."

"Um…" Penny sat down her food and thought, slapping her knees as she thought. "Well, I met them four years after they knew each other…I certainly wasn't a geek…"

"Nerd," Leonard said under his breath.

The voice distracted Penny. She stared into space for a second, and then looked at Leonard. "What?"

"Nerd. We prefer nerd."

"Sorry, nerd. Um…" she thought. "I…"

"We knew everyone's families like they were our own," Leonard said. "We still don't know about yours."

"You've met my dad."

"Yeah," Leonard admitted, "and I spent the entire time in a pointless ruse that was your idea. You heard him yelling at me."

"And we never met your dad," Howard said. Raj leaned over Bernadette to whisper something in Howard's ear. "Of course we're not speaking of that, Raj, did you hear me start to speak of that?"

"Raj, get off me," Bernadette requested. Raj leaned back into his original seat.

"Your families are interesting!" Penny protested. "Mine is a drug addicted brother, a father who hated me because of my gender, a mother who wouldn't stand up to him…"

"Hey now," Leonard protested. "Your dad's a nice guy."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Of course you'd say that. He _loves you_."

"Wooo!" Howard managed sarcastically, pumping a fist. Raj leaned across Bernadette to jab him. "That's not what I was talking about."

"Raj," Bernadette said calmly, "if you do not stop flattening me against the back of this couch, I will voice what you don't want Howard to talk about."

"Uh – oh," Amy said.

"How do you know?" Raj managed to blurt out in a panic before slapping his hands over his mouth.

"I just read it on the Twitter account of the woman. She attended one of my lectures and threatened to kill me. So I follow her to see if she's come up with a plan."

There was silence. Everyone stared at Amy. Bernadette broke the silence. "What?"

Amy held up her phone. "Val Emmette, aka neurobabe1980 on Twitter. She's quite the gossip."

"She told you about…"

"The accident, yes."

"See?" Howard said. "It was an accident. Just like the incident with me and my cousin."

"You _slept_ with your cousin!" Penny said, still appalled.

The guys started laughing again.

"Why would Val Emmette care about your incestuous romp?" asked Amy. "She is referring to the car crash that took place less than one hundred feet from this building. The roads are blocked. Hence my 'uh – oh'."

There was more silence. Raj and Howard shot relieved looks at each other. "Oh."

"Looks like we're not getting out of here tonight," Bernadette said, getting up and walking over to the window.

"Before anyone makes plans," Sheldon said, jumping up.

"Give it a rest, Sheldon. Where else are they going to go?" Leonard had gotten up and peered out the window alongside Bernadette. "Road's blocked up, all right."

"Before anyone makes assumptions," Sheldon clarified, glaring at Leonard, "as I was not going to argue everyone staying over – it appears practical and I'm sure you could defeat me with brute strength – but rather I was going to state that I only have one rule."

"Go away?" Howard asked.

"No liquids after eleven P.M.?" Penny guessed.

"Okay, two rules," Sheldon said. "What Penny said, and no coitus in my apartment."

"It's my apartment, too," Leonard pointed out.

"Right, sorry," Sheldon said. "In that case, Leonard, roommate meeting. First order of business, I move that we forbid Howard and Bernadette from copulating in our apartment."

Leonard's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you meant them. Seconded!"

Howard rolled his eyes. "We don't have sex when others are in the same place. We're courteous." He glared at Leonard and Penny.

"We were in his bedroom and remained unaware that you snuck into the apartment," Penny said firmly.

"Everyone," Amy said, "you are treating this as a tragedy. You will be pleased to know that I have put a positive spin on this event."

"How?" Bernadette asked.

Amy smiled. "We're having a slumber party!" There was more silence. "Smiles and enthusiastic words would be appropriate here," Amy said. She grinned, a grin that would rival Sheldon's Joker impression. "Slumber party! Wow!" There was still silence. "Oh, I see," she said. "It's not as exciting when the men are around, is it?"

"No," Penny said.

"Yeah," Bernadette said. "Yeah, as in, 'I agree with Penny'," she clarified.

"Oh." Amy looked disappointed. "Well, we'll have to make the best of it. Who is up for a spirited game of truth or dare?"

"Ooh, I'm in," Howard said enthusiastically.

"I move that all truths and dares be PG – 13 or below," Penny said, glancing at Howard.

"Seconded," Sheldon said.

"Okay," Leonard said. "But after Truth or Dare, we're playing Klingon boggle."

Amy sighed. "All right, but I find no challenge in that."

"I do," Penny said. "We'll be a team."

Amy smiled broadly. "Okay!"

"After that," Sheldon said, "let's play counterfactuals."

"Sheldon," Amy said, "I'm finding no challenge in that game anymore." She glanced toward Penny. "But she, without a doubt, does. Bestie, will we continue being a team?"

Penny sighed. "Sure."

"You know, if this gets too awkward, the girls can always go next door, can't we, Penny?"

"Oh yeah," Penny said. "I'll provide an escape."

"Escape from what?" Sheldon asked. "While our first slumber party activity is a game in which I find little entertainment value, it appears to be a favorite among the female members of our little group, and all activities after that are much too exciting to need escaping from."

There was another silence. "We may be joining you away from him," Howard said to Penny under his breath.

Penny glanced at Sheldon, and then back at the engineer. "I understand," she said solemnly.

"Who wants to start?" Bernadette said in a loud voice, trying to focus the group's attention.

"I will," Leonard offered.

"Truth or dare?"

"Um…truth."

"In terms of research and contribution to their respective fields, which parent do you find more successful, and why?"

"Um…" Leonard thought. "I guess I have to say my mother."

"Defend," Amy said.

"This isn't Counterfactuals," Leonard said.

"I didn't say it was," Amy said, looking at Sheldon. "Sheldon, did I say it was?"

"You did not," Sheldon said. Both members of the Shamy looked at Leonard with raised eyebrows.

Penny nudged him. "You're supposed to say _why_."

"Oh!" He laughed. "Right." He explained a few research papers and studies that each of his parents had completed. "Is that good enough?"

"Adequate enough to move on to the next player," Amy said, glancing at Bernadette for affirmation.

"Yeah," she said.

"Okay, my turn then," Penny said. "Dare."

Leonard cocked his head. "Tell us a story about your family."

"I chose dare!"

"And he dared you to tell the story," Amy said. "Just as Bernadette dared me to tell a dirty story."

"When did she do that?" Sheldon asked.

"While you were in line for the Indiana Jones movie," Amy said.

"Oh."

"Penny?" Leonard prompted.

"Um…one day, my brother and I were out playing catch and I found a baby robin."

Howard gave an exaggerated yawn. "That doesn't count." He looked at his girlfriend. "Does it?"

She shook her head. "A real story, Penny. A long one."

"How long?" Penny asked.

"Tell us The Story of Penny."

"She's already told that," Sheldon said. "She's from Omaha, came to L.A. to be an actress. We heard it the day we met her."

"That's more like a movie trailer," Leonard said. "As I posed the question, I choose the depth of response. Penny, we got the trailer years ago. Now, we want the movie."

"That's so long for one turn!" Penny protested.

"Leonard, may I?" Amy asked. Leonard shrugged, so Amy continued. "You tell us part of your story, and then we'll move on. Next time it's your turn, you tell another part. Or, you can be tied to Sheldon for twenty four hours."

"What?" Penny said.

"No!" Sheldon said.

"I don't mean that in a dirty way," Amy said. "Just by the wrist, with a piece of rope."

"Like in Big Brother?" Penny asked.

Amy looked confused. "Sure."

"Then no," Penny said. "And it's Leonard's dare."

"I like her idea," Leonard said mischievously.

"Why do you guys want to know about my Nebraskan life so badly?" she asked, feeling a little irritated.

"Because you've been hearing our stories for years, and there's no one to blab yours for embarrassment's sake because none of us knew you until a few years ago," Howard said. He looked around the circle. "Are we in agreement?"

Everyone nodded. Raj gave Howard a thumbs up.

Penny sighed, sliding her hands along her legs. "Fine."

**Remember, I love reviews. I'm not going to beg that you review every chapter, but I will tell you that I do like getting them a lot. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**And here is the Story of Penny. I've tried to keep this ACAP - As Canon As Possible.**

"Nebraska's not like California," Penny said.

"Penny, even Howard knows that," Sheldon interrupted.

"Hey!"

"It's a hard truth," Bernadette said, patting her husband's hand. "Live with it."

"Anyway," Penny said, "out where I lived, there were mostly family farms. And a few meth labs."

"Do the meth labs feature in your story?" Sheldon asked.

"A little bit," Penny said. "Stop talking. So I grew up in one of the most rural places in the country. Fields literally stretched for miles, and you didn't see a lot of cars. Aside from the friends one saw at school, if you wanted to visit with people, you really had to make an effort. Summers were the worst. Most of my friends went on vacations, but I couldn't afford to go anywhere. I wasn't too lonely in June, though. That was the month my sister would always come home.

_The fat pinto pony laid his ears flat against his head as he felt the small boots come into contact with his sides yet again. Lowering his head, he sprinted forward, his tail flying out behind him. Penny let go of the reins with one hand and used it to slap his shoulders. "Up!"_

_They were a good ten feet behind the woman on the taller horse, and the pairs had already crossed half the field. Penny fanned her hand along the pony's shoulders, urging him on. Her body was curved over his neck because her dad had told her once that it lowered wind resistance. She didn't know what wind resistance was, but her dad had simplified his diction, stating "it'll make him run faster." She just hoped he wouldn't buck – her weight was too far forward to stay on if he decided to._

_"Up!" She cried again, thumping her legs against the pony's barrel. His ears remained flat, and he shook his head in protest, flattening his stride out in a last attempt to catch the larger pair._

_Suddenly, they were even with the bigger horse's rump, and then his chest. Penny glanced to the side to give a triumphant smirk at her sister, and felt confused when she saw the panic on the woman's face. "The field!" She called to Penny._

_Penny looked ahead and realized that she'd caught up to her sister because the field was coming to an end and the leading pair had slowed down to be able to safely avoid the ditch that led to the neighbor's soybean crop. Penny, having urged the pinto to full speed, was moving too fast to stop safely, but she straightened up, standing in the saddle and leaning back, pulling on the reins. The pony gave a short leap in the air and landing with his legs planted. He skidded forward a few feet and came to a stop five yards short of the ditch. Penny, bound by Newton's Laws of Motion even though she wasn't aware of them, flew over the pony's shoulder and landed on the ground. In response to losing his rider, the pony took a few steps back and half – reared._

_Penny's sister rode up and grabbed the pony's reins, giving them a tug to calm the pinto down. "Stand!" She ordered, and then went over and picked up her sister. "You okay, Penny?" She asked, brushing dirt off of her little sister's face._

_"Yeah," she said, shaking her head. "Erin, put me down!"_

_"Are you too old to be picked up?" Erin asked, smiling._

_"Yes!" She said, pushing on her sister's chest to try and get away. "I'm seven!"_

_"Which makes me fifteen years older than you," Erin pointed out. "I can pick you up if I want to."_

_"Wait, I'm confused," Howard said. "Your sister was that much older than you?"_

_"She was my half-sister," said Penny. "My mom had her with her college boyfriend, when she was nineteen. When she married my dad when my sister was thirteen, Erin decided to live with her father because she didn't like either of her parents in a different relationship, even though they'd never married and broken up when she was two. After I was born, though, Erin mended her relationship with our mother and would always come visit us in the summers, even when she was in her twenties. When I was five, she started dating Richard, and then she would travel with him in the summers, but she kept June free for me. June was our month."_

_"Is Chubby okay?" Penny asked._

_"He's very proud that he was able to get you off," Erin said, putting Penny down and walking back to her horse._

_Penny watched Erin remount and then looked at her and her horse, Blue. "You won because Blue's legs are longer than Chubby's," she said in an accusatory tone._

_Erin laughed. "But you win the award for the best sliding stop."_

_Penny laughed and remounted Chubby. "Don't toss me again," she told the pinto, fondly scratching his withers. He snorted._

_Penny gave him a kick and he broke into a trot until they'd caught up with Erin and Blue, and then Penny reined him in so she could walk beside her sister. "I missed you."_

_Erin smiled down at her. "I missed you too, Sis. And you never told me about school. How's that going?"_

"_Okay," Penny said. "I broke up with Jason."_

_Her sister smirked. "You did, did you? Why was that?"_

"_Well, he actually broke up with me. We got engaged, but then at recess I found out he got engaged to Chelsea after he got engaged to me."_

"_Oh no," Erin said, doing her best to look concerned. "Whatever did you do?"_

_Penny shrugged. "I hung upside down on the playground so the other boys could see my underwear."_

_Erin burst out laughing. "Are you serious?" Penny nodded proudly. "You are going to scare me as a teenager, girl."_

_"Can we fix the zip line tomorrow?" Penny asked, changing the subject. "It broke in December."_

_"Probably because you used it when it was soaked through," Erin said. "Water weakens the rope."_

_Penny cocked her head. "Why?"_

_"It weakens the bonds the rope has with each little fragment within it," Erin said. "You'll understand when you're older."_

_Penny furrowed her eyebrows. "That's what Mom says when I ask why she kisses Daddy."_

_"You'll understand kissing in a few years," said Erin, smiling. "Which reminds me, when you put away Chubby, come to the living room."_

_"Why?"_

_Erin smiled. "You'll see when you get there."_

_"Am I getting a present?"_

"_No," Erin laughed. "You're getting a present after dinner, okay?"_

_Penny smiled broadly. "Okay."_

"Let me guess," Sheldon said. "She tried to explain kissing to you."

Penny shook her head.

"She brought the boyfriend?" Leonard guessed.

"Worse," Penny said. "At least, to me. She told my family that she was getting married."

"I take it that caused you a form of emotional distress?" Amy asked.

"Of course it did," Penny said. "Even though she was a lot older than me, she was still my sister. To me, sisters did not get married. I thought I was losing her." She looked down at her lap, and then back up at the guys. "I think that's a big enough chunk of story for this round. Sheldon, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Sheldon said.

Penny thought a moment. "Place both your hands, palms down, on the floor, and hold them there for ten seconds."

Sheldon's hands curled into fists and went protectively to his chest. "But germs!"

"You chose dare, Sheldon."

Sheldon sighed, closing his eyes and going to his knees. Keeping his eyes closed, he placed both hands flat on the floor.

"Don't," Leonard warned when Raj jumped up and raised a foot over Sheldon's left batch of fingers. Raj sighed and moved back to his seat.

Amy was counting. "Eight, nine, ten!" At 'ten' Sheldon jumped up and raced for the bathroom.

Raj and Howard were laughing. "That was a good one," Leonard said, holding his fist out towards Penny. She made a fist and bumped his.

"Well, he'll be in there a while," Howard said. "Mind if I go?"

"I believe the protocol dictates that we wait until Sheldon has returned to let him go next," Amy said.

"Well that'll be a good half-hour," Howard said grumpily.

"We could think of something else to do…" Leonard said.

"Like what?" Bernadette said. "If we start something, we'll have to interrupt it when Sheldon comes back."

"So we avoid Risk," Amy said, shrugging. "There's plenty of things that can be accomplished in a half hour."

"I've got an idea," Penny said, standing up.

"What is it?" Howard asked.

"Oh." Penny looked down at him. "I wasn't talking to you. Actually, you're forbidden, if I recall." She grabbed Leonard's hand and started dragging him toward the hallway.

"We're _forbidden_ in this apartment!" He called.

She stopped. "Crap."

"We can always go to yours."

Penny paused near the entrance to the hallway. She hadn't thought of that. She spun on her heel and marched back across the living room, still pulling Leonard by the sleeve.

"Bye," Leonard managed before the door shut behind them.

There was a silence in the living room. "Well this is rather uncomfortable," Amy said.

Raj nodded.

"I say we make the best of the situation," Howard said.

"No, Howard, they told us not to." Bernadette said.

"That's not what I meant, Bernie," Howard said. "I mean, we can change the seat cushions to throw Sheldon off when he comes back."

Amy squealed – about as much as Amy could squeal, anyway. "A harmless prank! I'm in."

**I have to apologize to my beta, who suggested that I do not italicize events from the past, and to anyone who agrees. On occasion there will be single sentences in the past or present before switching back, and I did not want to use a new chapter or a page break as it may get confusing. I figured this would be the easiest to distinguish what is past and what is present.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I kinda feel obligated to give an A/N before every chapter, but it's hard when it's all being posted at once. I will tell you, though, as a fun fact, I found this chapter especially challenging to write.**

Penny and Leonard returned after Sheldon got out of the bathroom, but several minutes before he found the correct cushion and placed it back in his spot. They watched, amused, as he sank onto the couch and gave a contented smile. "Yes, this is it."

"We're happy for you," Howard said sarcastically.

"Well, now that the two horny members of our social group have returned, and Sheldon's zero, zero, zero, zero has returned to it's neutral state, can we resume the Truth – or – Dare game?"

Sheldon cleared his throat. "Raj. Truth or dare?"

Raj whispered to Howard. "He says truth."

"Have you ever stolen a pencil from my desk and not returned it?" Raj nodded. Sheldon's eyes narrowed. "I thought so."

"That was lame," Bernadette whispered to Howard. He smirked.

Raj whispered in Howard's ear, and Bernadette just leaned back without acting on her previous threat. "Penny," Howard said, "Raj wants more story. More specifically, is your sister hot?"

Raj frantically waved his hands. "Howard, he said that you added that," Penny said. "And quite frankly, I believe him, and shame on you. Anyway, here's what happened next."

_Penny ran to her room and dropped to the ground next to her bed, sliding under and curling into a ball. She heard footsteps coming down the hall and was glad she got the sneeze out of her system before the bedroom door opened. "Penny?"_

_It was her…it was Erin. Penny squeezed her eyes shut, thinking foolishly that "if you can't see her, she can't see you" was an accurate statement. She felt the light hit her eyes as Erin lifted the skirt around her bed. "Penny, what's wrong? Come out of there."_

_"No."_

_"Is this about Rich?"_

_"Duh," Penny said._

_"I thought you liked him."_

_"I do."_

_She heard Erin sigh. "Come out from there so we can talk."_

_Penny crawled out from beneath the bed and finger combed her hair because that's what she always saw her mother doing in the mornings. "What?"_

_"I'm just making sure you're okay."_

_"I want to be sisters," Penny said, starting to cry._

_Erin put her arms around Penny. "We are sisters."_

_"Not for long." Penny wiped her eyes. "Sisters aren't married."_

_"Some sisters are married." Erin pulled Penny's bangs away from her face. "Your mom is married, isn't she?"_

_"She's not a sister."_

_"Then who is Aunt Beth?"_

_"Our aunt."_

_"But she is our mom's sister. Your parents' sisters and brothers are your aunts and uncles." _

"Wait, you were seven and didn't understand that concept?" Leonard asked.

"Remember, Leonard, it took her four years to get through high school," Sheldon said.

_"So when you marry Rich, will I be an aunt?"_

_"You will be if Rich and I have children."_

_"Will you?"_

_Erin pulled Penny close. "We want to."_

_"Do you decide that?"_

_Erin burst out laughing. "Yes. Mommies and daddies decide to have kids."_

_"Then they kiss, right?"_

_"It often starts that way," Erin said. "What did Mom tell you when Evan was born?"_

_"That mommies and daddies have babies when they're in love."_

_"Yes," said Erin. "And if Richard and I have a baby, you will be Aunt Penny."_

_"Have babies quick," Penny said. "I want to be an aunt."_

_Erin ruffled her hair. "I'll see what I can do."_

"Did they have kids pretty quickly?" Bernadette asked.

"Eighteen months into the marriage, give or take." Penny pushed hair back behind her ear. "That's when my nephew was born."

"You mentioned a brother," Amy said. "I assume he is younger than you?"

Penny sighed. "Yes. Evan was born when I was four. He was my dad's favorite."

"Because he was the desired gender?" Amy asked.

Penny nodded. "He'd always wanted a boy. He got him on the second try, but it robbed him of having a son as the oldest child._ I_ robbed him of that."

"Penny, your dad loves you," Leonard said. "When I was spending time with him on his visit, even I could tell that. You seemed like one of the most important people in the world to him."

"Yeah, well, you didn't see him when I was twelve," Penny said. "He made it very clear that I wasn't the gender that he wanted."

"Do tell," Howard said.

"Eh…" Penny trailed off. "I think we should play some counterfactuals first."

"Klingon Boggle was first on the agenda," Sheldon said.

"I move we play counterfactuals first," Bernadette said. "Since Penny and I do not speak Klingon."

"She can't make a motion," Sheldon protested. "She does not live here!"

"I make a motion that we play 'Counterfactuals' before we play Klingon Boggle," Leonard said.

"Seconded," said Penny.

"She can't second, Leonard," said Sheldon. "She does not live here."

"We all live here for tonight," Amy pointed out. She turned to Penny and smiled. "I've got your back, Bestie!"

"I suppose I really have no objection to counterfactuals," Sheldon said. "A much newer game than Klingon Boggle, also to its credit. Who wants to go first?"

"I will," Bernadette said. "Howard, in a world where blood transfusions are impossible, what extra precautions would be taken before someone buys an HD television?"

Penny furrowed her eyes and stuck her neck out. "What?"

"Um…wear pads in case they fall and cut themselves open?" Howard suggested.

"Nonsense," Sheldon said. "The answer is clearly preventing the shipment of illegal birds from the tropics."

"I don't follow," Amy said.

"That makes all of us," Howard said. Raj nodded.

Sheldon looked at Amy. "Newton's Second Law."

Amy nodded. "Right. Yes, that answer is correct."

The rest of the crew looked at her in confusion. "How?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the Shamy said in unison.

The rest of the group glanced at each other and decided to just go with it. "Oh, yeah," Howard said.

Raj nodded.

"Second Law," Penny mumbled, nodding like she completely followed their logic.

"Good." Amy smiled at Sheldon. "They're learning."


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope you guys are enjoying the fic so far! Although I don't usually shape a fic to review requests (unless I was going in that direction anyway) on occasion it has helped, and the way this is set up makes that technique impossible.**

"So let's hear more about this girl – hating daddy of yours," Raj said, putting the beer bottle on the table.

Penny sighed. "I don't want to talk about that."

"It can't be that bad," Leonard said. He put an arm around her. "Sometimes you feel better about stuff after you talk about it."

"I guess," she said. "Okay. So when I was little, my dad used to play catch with my brother and I. I was a better catch, so he'd throw the ball to me the most often. My brother just sat in the grass and played with ants. He liked pouring syrup and oil and milk and other liquids on them to see which ones killed the ants the fastest. 'That's my boy, the scientist,' my mother would always say."

"My father and I spent long hours playing catch together. 'Slugger' he called me. There were two trees in our yard, a tall one, and a smaller one growing a few feet from it. The branches of both interlocked when they neared the top of the small tree, and when I was ten I climbed up and sat on the arms while my dad threw the ball up at me. We had so much fun coming up with different ways to play catch."

_"Bob," Penny's mother called, standing in the back door of the farmhouse. "Can you come here, please?"_

"Your dad's name is Wyatt!" Leonard protested.

"His middle name was Robert. My mom called him 'Bob'." Penny took a drink of water. "Anyway…"

_Wyatt ruffled Penny's hair and went toward the back door. "You still ruffle her hair?" His wife said. "She's twelve years old!"_

_Penny stopped listening to the conversation. Just her mother reminding her father that she was growing up. She'd heard it before._

_She walked toward where her dog lay under the two trees. "Hey Buddy," she said, sitting down next to him and running her hands through his fur. "Maybe the big rock can be you."_

_There was a rock at the base of the smaller tree, which leaned away from the taller tree. Her father had always joked that the two trees were himself and his daughter. The daughter was leaning away from the father tree, but her hands, over her head, were holding his to prevent falling. Wyatt had said that Penny learned to walk that way._

_Penny rolled the ball in front of the dog, who didn't move to grab it but watched it with his ears pricked. "Lazy," she said fondly, leaning down and kissing the dog's head._

_Her father returned a few minutes later, and he sank to his knees beside her. "You're going to go shopping with your mom, okay?"_

_"Shopping?" Penny asked. Until the previous year, she hadn't been very interested in shopping, but Valerie, her new best friend, was really girly and into makeup and nail polish. She was also really popular and smart. Penny was glad that she had the chance to be friends with her. "Okay. We'll play more when you get back!" She shouted, skipping into the house. She stopped when she reached the living room. "Teddy's here!" She dropped to her knees and pulled her three year old nephew into her arms. "Where's mommy?" She asked._

_"With daddy. At the hospital."_

_"The hospital?" Penny asked the boy._

_"Penny."_

_Penny looked up at her mother. "Why are Erin and Rich at the hospital?"_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"Dad said that we were going shopping, and Teddy says his mommy and daddy are at the hospital!" She stood up, holding her squirming nephew against her hip. "What's going on?"_

_"Let's just get in the car," Her mother said, pointing toward the front door. "Everything's fine; let's go shopping."_

_"It's not fine if my sister's hurt!" Penny said. "It's your daughter!"_

_"Erin's fine," said her mother, giving Penny a warning look. "Everyone's fine, don't worry. Now come on, let's go shopping."_

_"Where are we going?"_

_"The mall by the…post office."_

_"And the hospital," Penny said._

_"Yes, the hospital's there too, you know that."_

_"Where my sister and Rich are."_

_Her mother sighed. "Let's go, Penny. Bring Teddy."_

"What was wrong with your sister?" Amy asked.

"It wasn't my sister," said Penny. "It was Rich."

"So something was wrong," Sheldon said.

"Yes," Penny said. "Something was. But my mom wouldn't tell me. She was determined to keep the day's routine as she'd planned it."

"What did that entail?" Leonard asked.

Penny sighed. "I was twelve. It was time for me to get a bra."

"I'm suddenly interested in this story," Howard said.

"You were twelve?" Bernadette said. "I was eleven."

"I was really late with everything," Penny said, shrugging. "Is this enough story for now?"

"Do you want to play Research Lab?" Sheldon asked.

Penny stared at him for a moment. "So my mom took me to the store…"

_"It's bra time for you, Missy," her mother said as they entered the junior's department._

_"Okay," Penny said in a small voice, shifting Teddy to the other arm. She looked at all of the bras. Teddy reached out and punched in one of the underwire kind. Penny giggled._

_"Here," her mother said, thrusting several training bras into her daughter's hand. "Try these on."_

_"Here you go, Teddy," Penny said, taking a few underwire ones off the rack and laying them on the floor. Teddy began punching them in as Penny entered the dressing room, ignoring her mother's protests of "Penny! What the heck do you think you're teaching him?"_

_Penny put on the first bra and looked in the mirror. She looked weird. The material felt odd against her skin. "I don't like this!" She called to her mother._

_"You'll get used to it."_

_Penny sighed. "I bet." She knew Valerie had bras already. She supposed it was time she got one, too. She yanked it off and put her shirt back on. The other bras were all the same. If this one fit, the others would fit, too._

_She exited the dressing room. "They're all fine. Can we go and see Erin now?"_

_"I already told you," said her mother. "Erin's fine."_

_"Mom!"_

_"Penny!"_

_It was a warning. Penny lowered her head. "Yes, Mom." She picked up Teddy and looked him in the eye. Are your parents okay? What happened?_

_As they left the store, a wind picked up, blowing the hot air around and whipping Penny's hair into her eyes. Clouds were coming in rapidly overhead._

_"Oh, Lord, it's twister weather," her mother said, shifting her bags to one hand and using the other to push Penny toward the car. "Move, girl, move!"_

"Did you get home in time?" Raj asked.

"Yes," Penny said. "Barely. We ran into the basement just as a twister touched down four farms away, as we later learned. We stayed down there all night; I fell asleep in the bean bag chair with Teddy in my lap."

"Was everything okay?" Bernadette asked. "What happened to Erin and Richard?"

"The following morning," Penny said, "I went outside to look for Buddy. I didn't get very far, the bra was bothering me and I found the dog cowering under our porch."

"So the, as you put it, twister, did not affect your farm?"

"No, Amy," Penny said. "Not really. All the winds did was break the branches from the two trees in the backyard, near the cow barns. The smaller tree was hit by lightning, too, splitting partway down the center."

"The larger tree wasn't hit?" Leonard asked in confusion.

"It had it's own share of damage," Penny said. "I was devastated, because those were the Father – Daughter trees. Ironic that the day I got my training bra, the day my relationship with my father changed, was the day that a storm broke the hands of our trees apart and split the smaller tree in two."

"But the tree died, didn't it?" Leonard asked. "You're okay."

"No," Penny said, shaking her head. "It healed. It took a long time, though."

"How did your relationship with Wyatt change after the bra, though?" Leonard wanted to know. "I mean it's not like 'poof' your entire being changed."

_"Dad, come on, let's go!" Penny said the next day, holding the catcher's mitt in one hand and the ball in the other. "I'm going to sit on the new top of the smaller tree."_

_"That's dangerous, Penny," he said._

_"I fixed the tractor, you said that was dangerous, too."_

_"I wouldn't have let you fix the tractor, either, if I had known you were going to do it."_

_"If you weren't on the phone all the time!" Penny protested._

_Wyatt sighed. "I'm on the phone for important reasons."_

_"Who are you talking to all this time? Where's Mom, anyway?"_

_"I'm talking to mom. She's with Erin."_

_"What's going on, Dad?" Penny asked. "Teddy's been with us two whole days, and no one tells me anything about Erin. What's going on?"_

_Wyatt sighed. "Your sister…and Richard…they're in a bit of trouble. With the law. Its' complicated."_

_"You could get your mind off of it by playing catch with me," she said, cocking her head and smiling._

_"I don't have the time right now, sweetheart," Wyatt said._

_"You had time to go to Evan's soccer game for three hours yesterday!"_

_"Evan…your brother needs extra attention," said her father slowly._

_This is about the bra, isn't it? Penny thought. She put the baseball back in the mitt. "Maybe later?"_

_"Maybe, but I can't make any promises."_

"So that was it?" Howard asked, looking confused. "You get some boobs and all of a sudden he loses interest in you?"

"Guys don't have boobs," Penny said, shrugging.

Howard let out a deep sigh. "You haven't seen my uncle Gregory."

"I'm sorry," Bernadette said to Penny. "Did you ever figure out why? I mean, aside from you being a girl?"

"I suppose he was preoccupied with Erin and Richard's situation," Penny said. "My mom stayed with them at the hospital for three days and he kept in constant contact with her. Sometimes I'd overhear conversations with her, or with other people. He was making what appeared to be very sexist comments."

"Like what?" Leonard said, his skepticism obvious.

"Well, my brother's best friend, Ryan, his older sister ran away from home a few days before all of this happened, and Evan was full of talk of running away. He was only eight, but my parents were worried about the influence that Justin was having on him."

"Is this the Justin you dated?" Leonard asked.

"No," Penny said. "Anyway, I assume they were talking about keeping Evan from seeing influential people like that: 'We need to keep him with us,' I remember my father saying. And 'I know she's your daughter, but it doesn't make a difference. He's what's important right now. It's not his fault'."

"I can see how it's not Evan's fault that his friend has rebellious siblings," Amy said, "but what did the comments about you mean?"

"I don't know!" Penny said, throwing her hands up. "Not to this day. All I know is every time I thought of those words, I wanted to cry. And starting after that, my relationship with Evan deteriorated. We were really close, but I started to resent him because of how my father felt about us."

"If we can circle back," Sheldon said, making the circle motion with his finger, "what was the conundrum with your sister and her husband?"

"Oh," Penny said. "Right. Raj, do you remember the story I told you when we first met?"

"Aaaaahh…" Raj struggled to remember.

"Not important that you remember," Penny said dismissively. "Anyway, Erin and Richard got to drinking and then got in a huge fight. He stormed out, and later that night he came home, but she was so wasted she didn't know it was him, took her gun and…" Penny trailed off.

The group was silent. Then Howard spoke. "Where?"

"Shoulder," Penny said. "He was in the hospital for a week."


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter, as you can see, is mostly flashback.**

_Penny awoke to bright sunlight shining in her eyes and a ringing in her ears. It took her a second to realize that the ringing came from the phone at her bedside table. She reached for it. "Hello?"_

_"We're going to the mall. You in?"_

_"Ugh, Valerie, I just got up."_

_"Well we're not going now, for Pete's sake. Anna's flight doesn't get in for an hour."_

_"Anna's coming home?" Penny asked._

_"Yeah."_

_"Wait – why do we care?"_

_"Because her nose job was canceled. Turns out the guy wasn't qualified. So she's still only got one nostril."_

_"Gross!" Penny said, laughing._

_"So we need to wait for her flight to get in so we can be in the mall when she comes to see that boyfriend of hers. I need a good laugh."_

_"That is so mean."_

_There was a sigh over the phone. "Seriously, what's her dad going to do to us?"_

_"Us?" Penny said in confusion. "I didn't do it the first time!"_

_"It doesn't matter," Valerie said, giving an annoyed sigh. "Are you in, or not?"_

_"Actually, I have to watch my nephew," Penny said. "He'll be staying with us for a few days."_

_"Why?"_

_"His dad's in the hospital."_

_"Oh. Lame."_

_Penny forced a laugh. "Yeah. Totally lame. Listen, I got to go, but…I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"_

_"Yeah. Sure." Penny replaced the phone in its cradle. "Dad!" She called._

_"Yeah, sweetie?" She heard him answer from downstairs._

_"Where's Evan?"_

_"With me!"_

_Penny got out of bed and headed downstairs without getting out of her night clothes. She didn't want to wear that stupid bra, anyway. She located her dad, brother, and nephew in Evan's room, playing Monopoly. "Hey, guys."_

_"Hey," her dad said, glancing up at her and then back to her brother. "Remember, you only get $200 when you pass 'Go' so don't waste your money now on properties that you can't afford. Manage your money. It's important."_

_Teddy reached onto the board, where her father's little green houses were scattered on Park Place. He grabbed a fistful and threw them across the room._

_"Brat!" her brother shouted, reaching over and clubbing the toddler with his arm._

_"Evan!" Wyatt snapped, grabbing his son's arms back. "Do not hit him!" He told his son sternly. "Whatever you do, do not hurt him."_

_Teddy was crying. Penny came over and picked him up. He clung to her. "Evan, you're a jerk," she said. Evan used his other arm to smack her. Wyatt glared._

_"Yeah Dad, yell when he hits the other boy but just give him the stern look when he hits me. Real subtle," she said, spinning on her heel and heading for the door._

_"Don't talk to me like that!" Wyatt shouted after her._

_"Just make me stop," Penny said over her shoulder. She took Teddy outside and set him down. "Will you follow, or do I have to carry you?"_

_"I can follow you," he said. "I'm a big boy."_

_"Yeah, you're so big," Penny said with a hint of sarcasm. "Let's go see Chubby and Blue."_

_"Chubby!" Teddy said gleefully. "Teddy rides!"_

_"We'll see," Penny said, heading toward the barn. Teddy ran off down the other path. "Not the dairy barn, Teddy. The cows are in there. Remember, the nice ponies are this way." She grabbed his hands and pulled him in the right direction, and he followed willingly._

_Chubby and Blue let out loud neighs when the two humans entered the barn. Chubby craned his neck up to look out the stall partition, and Blue's elegant head extended into the aisle. Teddy climbed up on a bale of straw to stroke Chubby's nose. Penny patted the side of Blue's face._

_"I want to ride Chubby!" Teddy declared._

_Penny frowned. Attempting to change the subject, she dropped to her knees and pinched Teddy's nose, pulling her hand back with her thumb tucked between her pointer and middle fingers. "I got your nose!"_

_Teddy put a hand up to his face and looked at her. He drew his hand away and looked at it, and then back at Penny holding his 'nose'. His confused expression provided Penny with the thought that he was distracted for a minute more, and then he decided that he didn't care. "I want to ride Chubby!"_

"He seems to be a rather pesky toddler," Amy noted.

"He's certianly better than that damn monkey you had," Penny said.

Amy considered this point. "Fair enough."

_"Okay," Penny said. Her dad didn't like Teddy on the horses, even more so recently, but Penny didn't care at the moment. She pulled Chubby out of the stall, put the saddle on, and led him outside, Teddy following. "On three," Penny said. "Ready?" Teddy was way too short to mount on his own, but he thought that Penny could give him a leg up. To humor him, Penny let him stand at the horse's side, she put her hand on his bent leg and counted to three…and then she boosted him up anyway. But it fooled him, so she kept doing it. "One…two…three!"_

_Teddy grabbed hold of Chubby's brown, black, and white mane as Penny led them around the yard. "Trot, Chubby!" He demanded. Penny responded by tugging on Chubby's lead. The pony increased the speed of his walk slightly, and Teddy laughed in happiness. He was extremely easy to fool._

_"Penny!"_

_She stopped Chubby and looked toward the house. Her father was striding toward her, red in the face. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

_"Teddy wanted to ride Chubby."_

_Her father stared at her angrily. She stared back for several seconds. "You blinked," she said after a moment. "I win."_

_"Get inside. Now."_

_Penny pulled Teddy off of the pony. "Leave him." Wyatt said sternly._

_"Why?"_

_"Because I said so. Go."_

_"He's not hurt."_

_"That's not the issue here. Get in the house."_

_Penny scowled. She left Teddy and Chubby with her father and stormed toward the house._

**Remember, I have absolutely _nothing_ against people that want to review every chapter. ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sure you guys are probably starting to figure out where I'm going with this. (As Amber and Roxanne are nodding because they've read it already.) XD**

_"I can't believe you," Wyatt said, pacing in front of Penny. "I thought you were more responsible than that. What were you thinking, putting him in danger?"_

_"Danger?" Penny said. "He was walking around on a pony. The pony was on a lead. He's three, and that's about the number of feet he'd have to fall if something happened, something that would include me not being there to catch him, which wouldn't happen."_

_Wyatt sighed. "Penny. You're growing up." Penny felt her face turn red over embarrassment over the bra. "You need to understand more now that you have before. You need to wake up, pay attention to what's going on in your life, and make better decisions than you're making now. We can't take any chances with Teddy. Or Evan."_

_"The boys," Penny said, sighing._

_"You're grounded for a week," Wyatt said. "And if you do anything else stupid during that week, it becomes a month. Am I understood?"_

_"Yes," Penny said in a grudging tone._

"Wow, he was harsh," Bernadette said.

"Tell me about it!" Penny said. "It's just like boom, I have a bra, and all of a sudden I'm not good enough for him anymore."

"Sounds a little like teenage attitude," Howard said. Amy nodded in agreement.

"I wasn't even a teenager yet," Penny said in protest. "And why would it start on the day that I get a bra?"

"Oh, why don't you keep talking and maybe we'll find out," Sheldon said.

Penny stared at him. "Did you just use sarcasm?"

"Did you have to ask?" he responded.

"Good for you, then," Penny said dismissively. "Anyway, the following day I asked him to play catch with me, because, you know, he'd forbidden me from going anywhere, and he said no, he had to take Evan and Teddy out somewhere. I asked if I could come, and he said that despite my recent actions…"

_"You're still old enough to stay home by yourself."_

_Taking the boys everywhere, Penny thought. Of course this would happen. Of course. "Of course," she said. "I won't burn anything."_

_He gave her a warning look. "Good. We'll be home in a few hours."_

_"Whatever," she said, giving him a dismissive wave as she headed up to her room._

"Okay, well, I'm bored," Sheldon said. "I'll be going to bed. Amy, would you like to join me for coitus?"

"There is no need to falsify a reason for me to join you," Amy said. "I need no means of escape; quite frankly, I am enjoying this story. But enjoy your sleep, Sheldon."

"Thank you, Amy," he said. "Everyone." He nodded to them and headed for his room.

"So, what happened next?" Leonard asked.

"Well, my mom got home a few days later, told my dad that it was okay." Penny shrugged. "What was okay, I don't know. The next day, Teddy went home. I wanted to see Erin, but my parents said they were going to be busy for a while. I called her, and she said she was fine, Rich was fine, and Teddy was fine, and she was sorry she wasn't keeping in touch. But she promised me that she could see me again next June. It was ten months away, but it was a relief."

"With the strained relationship with my dad, I started hanging out more and more with Valerie and Monica. They hung out at Monica's house, a few buildings down from one of the meth labs. We'd go over there because Monica's dad made great pizza. I brought Evan a couple of times, since he was always wanting to get out of my dad's sight. I told him to be grateful for the attention, but he just told me I didn't get it. Once my dad caught me taking Evan to Monica's, I was grounded again. The on again, off again cycle of being in trouble continued for the next two years. Then, I had a good period of about six months, and my parents lifted my punishment. That was when I started dating."

"Oh, and here's the juicy part of the story," Howard said, perking up.

"What was your first boyfriend like?" Leonard asked.

"My first boyfriend? His name was Ben, but I only went out with him for two weeks. The first four were each around less than a month. I was dating this guy Chris for my fifteenth birthday; the idiot completely forgot. I was in tears. The next day I dumped him and he kept sending me these ridiculous I'm sorry letters. But he didn't know I dumped him for telling Valerie that she kissed better than I did."

"Oh, the drama of white schoolgirls," Raj said from where he lay sprawled on the floor.

"No more alcohol for you," Bernadette said, taking the bottle out of his hand. Raj hardly noticed.

"So…we're at fifteen – year – old Penny now?" Leonard asked, trying to get the conversation back on track. "What was that like?"

"It was okay. My grades weren't terrible. I had a five month relationship with a guy named Dan, I went to a few concerts. Okay, sixteen…"

"Wait," Howard said. "You're skipping over something."

Penny glared at him. "Am not."

"Yeah, you are. You moved too fast through that."

She sighed. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Penny," Bernadette said. "If this is more about your dad…"

"No, it's about…" Penny sighed. "Fine."

"Man, we're good at convincing her," Bernadette whispered across the table to Amy.

"Yay us!" Raj blurted from the floor, pumping his fist.

Penny watched him for a moment before sighing again. "So, I'd been dating Dan for four months, and things were going really good…" She trailed off. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Ooh," Howard said, sitting up straighter. "I think I know where this is going!"

Amy looked at him. "Where is it going?"

"I'm thinking Penny had…" Howard pretended to think. "What's the word Sheldon uses…oh right, coitus with this Dan."

Penny looked down at her hands.

"I'm right!" Howard said in triumph, holding his hand out for Raj to smack.

"I didn't say I did anything okay? Shut up!" Penny got up and marched down the hall.

"Nice going, Howard," Leonard said, glaring at the engineer as he got up to follow.

Penny had gone into Leonard's room and shut the door. He rapped lightly on it. "Penny?"

"Go away, Leonard."

"Penny." Leonard cracked the door open. Penny was sitting in the center of the bed, her knees pulled up to her chest. She didn't look at him. "Penny, what is it?"

"You know what it is." She tipped her head down so her forehead rested on her knees. "And I said too much."

Cautiously, Leonard came and sat on the bed next to her, his legs off the side. "What do you mean, you said too much?"

"I didn't want to talk about that." She said. "But now it's been brought up. If I go back out there, they'll make me."

Leonard took a deep breath. "Okay," he said. "Although I am a little confused."

"Why." It was a question, but didn't sound like one. "I was fifteen, I had sex. It's not that hard to understand."

"I mean…" Leonard sighed. "We knew you'd been around when we met you…"

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just that we knew you had had sex prior to you moving in, so your first time had to be…sometime."

"Girls don't like talking about when it was," Penny said.

"Bernadette has no problem with it," he said, teasing.

"Why don't you date her then?" Penny snapped, getting up.

"Stop it," he said, rising and taking her shoulders. "Is this about more than just the fact that you had sex?"

He felt her shoulders relax slightly, and he knew he'd hit pay dirt. She turned slightly to face him. "You can't tell anyone."

He shook his head.

She sank back down on the bed. "He had told me he loved me."

"Oh boy," Leonard said, scratching his head. "And, not just due to this conversation, I'm guessing that didn't go well?"

"No," Penny said. "I said I loved him too, and a week later, on his birthday, we did it in his bedroom. I'd been afraid, but he told me that it was only a big deal the first time. After that, it was no big deal. I guess I should have taken that as a hint that it didn't mean anything to him, but…" She shook her head, putting a hand up to cover her eyes.

"It got bad," Leonard said, sliding an arm around her.

"Penny?"

Leonard used his other hand to motion away, but Penny looked up and smiled. "Hey, Bernadette."

"Are you okay?"

"She's fine," Leonard said.

Bernadette came in and sat on Penny's other side, grabbing one of her friend's hands. "What happened, Penny?"

_"Well, I still say it's about time you went ahead and did it," said Monica, cranking the window open to her bedroom and lighting a cigarette. "I'm actually surprised you did it, though, with your comments to me a few weeks ago. Want one?"_

_"Nah," she said. "Wouldn't want to smell like cigarettes for Dan. Ruin the mood," she said, wiggling her shoulders._

_"You act like it's such a big deal," Monica said, laughing. "Believe me, it's not. You're such a newb."_

_Penny blushed, hitting her friend with a pillow. "I'm not a slut, Slut."_

_"Aw, shut up," Monica said, laughing. "So did you guys do anything crazy?"_

_Penny turned pink. "No."_

_"Too bad. That's when things really get exciting."_

_"Are you sure you're not…you're sixteen years old, Monica. Don't you ever worry about things moving too fast?"_

_"Psssh." Monica said. "No. It's all gonna happen eventually, and it's great, so why not?" She turned to the mirror and adjusted the bobby pins in her hair. "Yeah, people will say we can't handle it, but you don't see me slitting my wrists, do you?"_

_"Well, when you put it that way!" Penny said, laughing._

* * *

><p><em>Penny cuddled up to Dan, pushing her head into the crook of his neck. "Am I getting the hang of it?"<em>

_"Yeah babe," he said off handedly, staring up at the ceiling._

_"What's wrong?" Penny asked, raising her head._

_"Nothing," he said. "Look," he said, sitting up, "I really got to go."_

_"But…"_

_"Sorry, sweetie," he said, putting a quick kiss on her forehead and jumping up, throwing his clothes on. I'll see you," he said, opening the window and jumping out_

"Oh, Penny," Bernadette said.

"He just left?" Leonard asked.

"That's not everything," Penny admitted after a silence.

_"So," Penny's mother said, handing her a plate of toast, "How are things with you and Dan."_

_"Good." Penny took a piece of toast and stuffed half of it in her mouth. "Ood," she repeated with her mouth full._

_Her mom ran her hands through her daughter's hair. "I ran into him at the store the other day. He was buying groceries for Valerie's mom."_

_"He was?" Penny asked, confused._

_"He said that she had begun to feel sick at the deli, and he offered to finish her list for her, since he'd be passing by the Mossbacher's house on his way home."_

_"Oh," Penny said, taking another bite of toast._

_"Evan?" Her mother said, looking toward the door. "Where are you going?"_

_"School."_

_She gave a sigh. "It's Saturday."_

_"I know," Evan said. "Tutoring group. Math."_

_"Oh." Her mother nodded. "Okay. Good boy."_

_Penny smirked as Evan flew out the door. "You believe that crap?" She asked._

_Her mother looked at her strangely. "What do you mean?"_

_"He's just up and decided to get tutored in math? Last night he told his math assignment to go screw itself."_

_Her mother sighed. "If he's willing to bring his grades up, I'm not going to question his intentions and get him angry."_

_"Okay," Penny said, twirling a spoon that was lying on the table. "But he's going to end up in a bad situation one of these days."_

_"Your father and I will prevent that from happening, Miss I – Have – Life – Figured – Out." Her mother shook her head. Penny grinned._

"I'm a little confused," Bernadette admitted.

Penny sighed. "Well, long story short…" She sighed. "Leonard, first of all, I love you." Leonard looked confused. "I just need to re – emphasize that because of what happened."

"To us?"

"No…yes…" she shook her head. "Long story short, later that day I wanted to play catch with my dad, and he said he didn't have time because he needed to focus attention on my brother. I was angry, and when he left with the car I was busy steeple chasing Blue over the stack of hay bales near the silo. I wanted to see where he was going, so I followed him."

"Blue?" Bernadette asked.

"My dad."

"You kept up with him on horseback?"

"He had to take the roads, and there were sometimes cows wandering across them. I went by way of the fields. Kept him in sight. I needed to know what was so important that he couldn't play catch with me. I knew my brother wasn't going to a study session, and supervising that was the only reason I could think of that would make my dad leave. Other than the whole anti – girl thing he had going on." Penny shook her head.

_"Come on, Blue," Penny said when the horse balked at the ditch. "You're a good boy, come on."_

_Blue backed up several steps, shaking his head._

_"Come on!" Penny said, spinning him around and trotting away a few yards. She ran her hand up his neck. "It's okay. Let's get to it." She closed her legs around his barrel, and he jumped into the canter from a halt. She got up off his back and folded with him as he rose in the air over the ditch._

_They landed on a patch of mud, and Blue slipped. Penny threw her weight backwards and gave him control of his head. He righted himself, snorted, and took off, leaping with each stride. "Easy!" She called, bringing him back under control. She allowed herself to laugh. Even at sixteen years old, Blue acted like he did back in the days when Erin rode him, when Penny chased after her on Chubby. Back when June was their month._

"Okay, we get it," Leonard said, giving a little laugh. "That was a cool horse. Can we get to the part with your dad?"

Penny turned red. "Right."

_Penny recognized where her father's car came and parked. It was the building near Monica's house, the gray one with broken windows and cobwebs that she strongly suspected was a meth lab. Behind it was a yard – of sorts – with a dumpster and barrels and traffic cones. She and Blue skittered to a stop just beyond them, watching as Wyatt walked around the building._

_"Oh, Evan, you are so busted," Penny whispered. In response, Blue's ears flicked back. Penny absentmindedly stroked the mane on his withers._

_A movement to the right caught Penny's eye. Another car was parked near the entrance to a small door. Penny cocked her head. The car had been originally hidden from site behind the dumpster, but from what she could see of it, she recognized it as Valerie Mossbacher's._

_"What's Val doing here?" She asked Blue in a baby voice. "What do you think, Blue? She and Evan in the meth business together?"_

_Blue snorted, raising his head and pricking his ears, his nostrils flaming red as he looked at the door._

_It was opening. Valerie emerged, tugging her loose shirt on over her head. Her jeans were unzipped; she reached down to draw up the zipper._

_Penny's jaw dropped. "No."_

Leonard and Bernadette stared at her. "Valerie was sleeping with Evan?"

"That's what I thought," Penny said. "But no. She wasn't."

_Valerie looked behind her, giggling. "Come on, Rock Star," she said in a joking tone._

_Penny craned her head to hear the response, but whoever it was didn't answer loud enough. "Evan, you…" she struggled with the proper adjective, even under her breath. "I just…"_

_A second figure came out of the building, his shirt off and wadded up in his hand. Even from the distance, Penny could see that was not her brother. Her jaw dropped, her hands slackened and she dropped the reins. Blue in turn dropped his head to sniff at the dandelion growing in between his front hooves._

_"Dan," she whispered._

_Dan and Valerie moved toward her car. She hopped up on the hood and said something to her. He responded by coming over and pushing her over onto her back while he kissed her._

_A sound of pain escaped Penny's lips. She clapped a hand over her mouth in hopes they didn't hear._

_They didn't. Or perhaps they didn't care. Valerie's hands came around Dan's back as she sat up as best she could. He said something to her and she laughed._

_Penny slid her reins to the left of Blue's neck and thumped her right leg repeatedly against his side. He spun on his haunches. When he'd turned one hundred and eighty degrees, she closed both legs around him, galloping off._


	7. Chapter 7

**As you can see, only one chapter left after this. Things are beginning to wrap up.**

**Oh! I still don't own anything.**

_When Penny returned home both of her parents were there, talking in the kitchen. She thought about going straight to her room, but entered the dining room and sank down in one of the chairs._

_Her mother saw her, and when Wyatt had finished his hushed sentence, she leaned into the threshold between the two rooms. "Sweetie?"_

_"Mom," she choked, getting up and letting her mother put her arms around her._

_"Sweetie?" Wyatt said._

_Penny's mom turned. "In a minute, Wyatt."_

_"Penny, sweetie, are you doing drugs?"_

_"What?" She said. "No!"_

_"Okay. Sweetie, your mother will be up to talk to you soon. We need to talk about your brother right now."_

_"Wyatt!" His wife said incredulously._

_"What's she so upset about?" Wyatt asked._

_"Never mind," Penny said, wrenching away from her mother and heading upstairs to her room._

"Your brother was doing meth?" Leonard asked.

"That's what you took from that?" she shrieked.

"No, no, I got it," he stammered. "No, I – I got it. I was just…making sure I got…" he motioned awkwardly with his hands. "The other part of the story right."

"I never found out what Evan was doing there," she said. "But it probably was."

"Valerie and Dan?" Bernadette said quietly.

Penny nodded. "I lost my virginity to a boy who cheated on me before, during, and after."

"During?" Leonard asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Bernadette had a similar confused look on her face.

"I was a newb," Penny said. "She had to have popped into his head a few times."

"That's not cheating," Bernadette said firmly. Penny and Leonard turned to look at her. "But of course I have never done that," she said, shaking her head.

"Oh baby," Leonard said, sliding his arm around her and putting a kiss on her forehead. Bernadette slid her arm around Penny from the other side, squeezing the hand she still held.

"I am so glad you didn't tell Raj and Howard that story," Leonard said, moving on. "It's okay, Penny."

"Me too," Bernadette said. ". I love Howard, but he's a pig."

Penny sighed. "So that's the Story of Penny." She turned to Leonard. "He used me like I used you." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You not being able to say you loved me doesn't make you as bad as that D-bag," Leonard said.

"I'm talking about after we were broken up and…never mind." Penny shook her head.

"It's okay," he said. "Do you honestly think that still bothers me?"

She shook her head. "It's not enough, but thank you anyway. So," she said. "That's just...you know, my story with...that."

"That can't be everything," Leonard said.

"Ew!" She said, scooting a few inches away from him.

"That's not what I meant," he said. "I mean there's got to be more good things."

"Oh yeah," Penny said. "There is."

"Do you feel like you can go back out there now?" Bernadette asked.

Penny nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay."

The trio walked back out into the living room. "Hey guys," Penny said quietly.

"Hey," Howard said, looking at her curiously. "What…was that about?"

"She just didn't feel comfortable sharing her loss of virginity story with everyone," Leonard said.

"Leonard!" She said incredulously, before realizing that was probably the best way of putting it. "Yeah, he's right."

"No problem," said Amy. "I am sure that I would be embarrassed to tell that story too, if I had a similar scenario to discuss."

"I appreciate the empathy, Amy."

"Can you give us a shortened version of what was explained in Leonard's bedroom, so you can continue with the story?" Howard

Penny considered pretending that she took the question a different way, but she was getting too tired to play pretend. "I slept with Dan, the relationship ended soon after, and he started dating Valerie." Penny dropped back into her chair. "The big ol' slutbag."

"Okay," Amy said, nodding. "Proceed."

"So since I had a crummy first time," Penny said, "or rather, learned about that afterward…" she put her hands on her knees and looked at Leonard. "Man that sucked!"

"I would imagine," Bernadette said, shaking her head. "My first time was in a Camry…"

"We know," Leonard and Penny said in unison.

"…but it wasn't a real relationship at all. Just your good old – fashioned hookup." Bernadette shook her head again. "I'm sorry, Penny."

"This is the same Valerie that took head cheerleader from you, right?" Leonard asked.

"Yeah," Penny said, scoffing at the memory. "The incident with Dan made us enemies."

"Did you choose better friends after that?" Amy asked.

"I thought so…" Penny said, shrugging. "I had a better boyfriend after that. Adam. Dated him for the rest of my fifteenth year and nearly half of my sixteenth. Slept with him, too. It wasn't as big of a deal the second time. We broke up because he was moving away. Then I fell into a friendship with…" She glanced at Howard. "Christy."

"Vanderbilt?" Howard asked.

"Who?" Bernadette asked.

"Oh, God," Leonard said in disgust.

"Christy," Amy said in response to Bernadette's question.

"I was friends with her for a while," Penny said. "She's a year younger than me, so she was just turning sixteen when this friendship was going on. I introduced her to my cousin Sam, who was a pretty attractive guy, and twenty. Evan was fourteen."

"Why does it matter how old Evan is at this point in the story?" Amy asked.

"Because…he was messed up by that point. He'd grown violent. He was spending time with troubled older boys. There was a rumor that he'd been one of the boys who hired that girl for…well, you know, but he was with me and my dad that night, so at least I know _that_ part wasn't true." Penny shuddered. "He wasn't making good decisions."

"And you were?" Amy asked.

Penny let out a long sigh. "Well, I hadn't shot anyone and I wasn't doing drugs, so…"

"Wait, was Evan the pregnancy test guy?" Leonard asked.

"Evan is my brother," Penny said. "If you mean Adam, yes, he was the pregnancy test guy."

"I thought you promised to use protection," Amy said.

"We did," Penny said. "Things _happen_, all right? Anyway, Christy started dating Sam, but she hung out at our house a lot, so we were all kind of friends."

"What changed this time?" Bernadette asked.

"You didn't sleep with Christy, right?" Howard asked. "Ow!"

"I'll do it again," Bernadette said, holding her fist by his face.

"No," Penny said. "No, Howard, I wasn't sleeping with Christy. Pretty much everyone else was, though. And in the wake of what was supposed to be a great announcement."

_"I can't believe one of my best friends is marrying my cousin!" Penny said, tipping the bottle up so the calf could better reach it._

_"I can't believe a seventeen year old is thinking of getting married," Erin said, sitting cross legged on the straw. "I mean, she's got her life ahead of her." _

_"Come on," Penny said. "It's Christy. Sam's the best she can do." Erin laughed. "I'm not kidding," Penny said._

_"I thought you guys were friends."_

_"She's engaged to my cousin. Doesn't that make her kinda family?"_

_"Not really. Not yet. She'll be family once they get married." Erin held her hands out in front of her to study her nails. "You don't have to call her that beforehand."_

_Penny smiled. "Change of topic. So how's my nephew doing in school?"_

_"Oh, he's got all A's," Erin said. "He's much smarter than his parents are."_

_"College dropout," Penny teased._

_Erin turned red. "I know, I know."_

_The calf nearly fell to the straw. "Clumsy!" Penny teased him. "You are far too cute."_

_"I miss being able to play with these guys all the time," Erin said. "I can't remember the last time that I was around when they were this little."_

_"Yeah," Penny said. "God forbid you come here in April!"_

_"I know, right?" Erin said, joking. "Am I too old to say that?"_

_"Thirty one is way too old to say that," Penny said, nodding. "But you can try to be as cool as me."_

_"I'm doing my best," Erin said, smiling._

_Penny paused in her motions again, turning to look at her sister. "Christy is sixteen. Is it even legal to get married?"_

_"Her father's a pothead. He'd consent to it in an instant. He's still bitter over her sister going into a nunnery. Plus she'll be seventeen when the wedding actually happens."_

_Penny laughed. "That's a wasted life. So I'm going to be related to a friend…that's just…weird. What will this make us?"_

_Erin thought. "Cousins – in – law?"_

_"Sounds about right." Penny nodded, scratching the calf's chest affectionately._

"Hang on," Howard said. "This is the Christy that I slept with."

"No, it's the other Christy Vanderbilt."

"There were two of them?" Amy said, looking interested. "With similar qualities? This is a fascinating statistics problem."

"Sarcasm," Leonard coughed.

Amy looked at him for a moment, and then blinked. "Oh. I see."

"When you told us about Christy," Howard said, "you said 'she was engaged to my cousin when she was sleeping with my brother, so she's kinda family'."

"Yes."

"So, let me get this straight," Howard said. "Your sixteen year old friend, was engaged to a twenty year old cousin – "

"Because her father was a pothead," Raj interjected.

"…because her father was a pothead," Howard said, continuing, "and she was sleeping with your fourteen year old brother?"

Penny stared at Howard for a long moment. "My family wasn't the most normal family on the planet."

"It certainly appears on the opposite end of the spectrum," Sheldon said from behind them.

Penny turned. "I thought you went to sleep."

"I was asleep. Then your conversation with Leonard and Bernadette disrupted the aforementioned sleep." Sheldon went into the kitchen. "I need warm milk. Please do not continue with your little soap opera until I am out of earshot."

"You have Vulcan hearing," Howard said.

"Yes." Sheldon said.

Penny rolled her eyes. "Put on your stupid headphones if you don't want to overhear anything."

"I can't imagine that there's much left to tell," Sheldon said. "But while we're on the subject, I do not believe that a traffic accident means that I must be subject to this jibber jabber in my own apartment, which I have selflessly given as a refuge for my friends. The roommate agreement does not state that I must sleep with the headphones on in a situation like this."

Leonard put his head in his hands in annoyance. Penny glanced at him, and then looked over at Sheldon. "Sheldon," she said sweetly, "if you do not go to bed, put on your headphones, and leave us alone, then I'll flash you."

Sheldon froze momentarily, his left cheek twitching slightly. Then he gave a quick nod. "Yes ma'am," he said, scooting toward the bedroom without a backward glance.

"And there he goes, ladies and gents," Howard said. "Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper. The only man on the planet that that threat can be made against."

"Well played, Bestie," Amy said, smiling.

"Thank you, everyone," Penny said proudly. She stood, stretching. "I'm going to the bathroom. When I get back, I'll tell you guys how I met Kurt."

_Penny came out of the gas station and stopped dead in her tracks. Standing over at one of the pumps, next to a shiny, expensive motorcycle, was the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen. He wasn't incredibly tall – she was probably taller than him – and he was pale and wore tight pants, but somehow she knew, somewhere in her unconscious mind, that she was meant to sleep with that man. She was meant to sleep with him in many different locations, in any way he asked. She walked toward him, her eyes never leaving his._

_"Hello," she said breathlessly, reaching out a hand. He took it in his own and kissed it. "Hello, fair maiden. I am a promising scientist who may one day end up in space."_

_"Wow," she said, putting a hand on her heart. "I've never said this to anyone before that I've just met, but…I must sleep with you. As soon as possible. Now, if that's feasible."_

"Howard!" Penny said, glaring at the engineer as she re – entered the living room. "That is not what happened next!" She looked at Amy, who was trying to stifle a laugh.

"I was amused at first," Amy said, glancing at Penny in embarrassment once she realized the waitress had witnessed her attempts to remain quiet. "But Howard, you have a wife."

"Who, may I add, is sitting right here," Bernadette pointed out.

"A little alternative history never hurt anyone," Howard said.

"Aside from Superman in Alternative Battle of Gettysburg," Raj mumbled from the floor.

"Should I be intrigued?" Amy asked.

Penny thought a moment. "No."

"Hey now, you didn't listen to my entire explanation of what we were doing," Leonard said in Raj's defense.

"Yeah, I really didn't need to, sweetie," Penny said, squeezing his shoulder. He shrugged. "So long story short…"

"Hey now!" Howard said. "We don't want 'long story short'. We want the movie. No more trailers."

"There isn't really much to tell with Kurt," Penny said. "He was an athlete. I was looking for the primitive kind of dude. He was muscle, he got into fights and won, and he wasn't sleeping with Valerie. Or so I thought."

"He cheated on you with Valerie, too?" Howard asked.

"Well, in all honesty and his defense," Penny said. "I don't know. I caught him cheating when we were here. I have no proof of anything he did when we were in Nebraska, and no one has ever claimed to have slept with him when we were going out."

"That was a four year relationship, right?"

"Yeah," Penny said, nodding at the microbiologist. "It was. And it was one of those cycles. He got in trouble, I bailed him out. I bought things, we found out how to pay for them. He had more money than he'd admit to me, but it was his. He'd buy me gifts, but if he needed fines to be paid all of a sudden he didn't have enough. Then it was up to me. I guess I fooled myself into thinking the relationship was working because we helped each other. I paid his fines, he'd find money to buy me stuff. After two years I dropped out of community college and started working to help pay rent on the apartment we got together. I was nineteen. My parents were devastated. My dad even showed up and begged me to get back together with Curtis, because "even that lunatic is better than this man."

"Was Curtis the beer pong guy or the pig poop guy?" Leonard asked. Amy, Bernadette, and Howard exchanged confused looks.

"Beer pong," Penny said.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here," Howard said. "His request didn't go over well with you."

"Um, no!" Penny said. "He just wanted me with Curtis because he knew that that one wouldn't work out. Then he could have me back home again with him and Mom. He said that Kurt wasn't going to always be there for me and it was only a matter of time before it ended with my heart breaking."

Leonard cocked his head slightly. "Which…did happen."

She sighed. "Yeah…" She looked down at her hands. "I told him I loved him two months in. He was the first and only boyfriend I moved in with. I wasn't leaving his side. But of course, cheating on me, lying about his finances…he wasn't abusive, but his behavior was still a deal breaker for me."

"It's because you're better than that," Bernadette said, reaching over and squeezing Penny's hand.

"Yeah," Penny said. "Thanks." She was still sitting on the arm of Leonard's chair, and he tipped his head to rest against her side.

"So?" Amy said eagerly.

"So, what?" Penny asked, turning her head to see the neurobiologist.

"What happened next?"

She cocked her head. "So…okay, Christy and my cousin called off their engagement…Kurt…I dumped him, afraid of love and commitment and up to my elbows in bills…" she smiled and looked around the room. "And I moved here, to…across the hall from this one," she finished.

"So that's the full story of Penny," Howard mused.

She nodded in confirmation. "Unabridged. Well, for Bernadette and Leonard."

"I gotta say, it's so much more complicated than 'I'm a Saggitarius and work at the Cheesecake Factory and I'm writing a screenplay," Leonard said.

"Well, ya know," Penny said, shifting her hands. "I wasn't going to pour all that out on people that I barely knew!"

"And yet you were comfortable enough to use their shower?" Amy asked.

Penny put her hands on her knees. "Yes."

"That's kinda messed up," Bernadette said, putting her glass down.

"Yeah..." Penny glanced to the side, looking down at the empty seat cushion next to her. She was getting tired, and was trying to remember if the night she'd spent on the couch when Howard was with Christy had been a comfortable one.

"You know, my bed would be happy to have you," Leonard said, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I don't think she realized she was thinking out loud, Leonard," Amy offered.

He glanced at her. "Thank you."

She smiled back. "I still have your back, Bestie."

Penny gave a somewhat amused smile. "Sorry, I was just thinking. I haven't thought that much about my life in a long time."

"It sounds rough," Bernadette said. "Especially the stuff you told Leonard and I."

"It was," Penny said. She glanced at Leonard. "Although I think I told you and Sheldon it was 'wonderful' the day that we met."

"You did," he confirmed, looking amused.

She smiled. "I just didn't want to unload my Daddy Issues on them, I guess."

"Were you afraid it would stop them from offering up their shower?" Howard asked.

"We're not on the shower anymore, Howard!" Penny said.

"Not to mention, you had sexual intercourse with your cousin."

The group looked at Amy. "We're not exactly on that anymore either," Howard pointed out.

"I am of course aware," Amy said, "but just like Jane Goodall observing the apes, I notice patterns among our group's interactions. When caught in what society calls "a tight spot", members of this group bring up Howard's embarrassing romp with a family member to take the attention off of them."

"It's like Sheldon never went to sleep, isn't it?" Howard asked.

Amy cocked her head. "He is only a theoretical physicist, but still, I appreciate what I believe was a compliment."

Yeah, go ahead and believe that, Penny thought with a smile.

"I have a question," Leonard asked.

"Yeah?"

"When I met your dad," Leonard said, "all he seemed concerned about was your honesty and happiness."

"Yeah," Penny said. "So?"

"He never made any sort of comment or gesture or...anything, that implied that he wasn't proud of you, or disappointed that you weren't a boy."

"Well, maybe he's just so glad of it now because of how messed up my brother is..."

Bernadette shifted. "Is it possible that most of this was in your head?"

"Most of what?"

"You'd said that you got your training bra and everything, and he stopped playing catch with you around the time that your sister shot her husband, and your brother started going bad...is it possible that he wasn't giving you attention because he knew that focusing his attentions elsewhere wouldn't land you in jail?"

"I...I kinda agree with Bernadette here," Leonard said, gesturing with his fork. "If he ignored Evan he was going to go bad long before he did..."

"He's not bad!"

"He's 'kind of a chemist'," Leonard pointed out.

Penny desperately wanted to argue, to stand up for her brother even after blaming him for her unhappiness as a teenager, but she couldn't. "Fair point."

"And if he didn't give Teddy attention, and if he wasn't always talking to people about Erin and Richard, then they might have lost custody."

"I see where this is going," Amy said. "Although 'happy' isn't the appropriate adjective, you might call your father's apparent 'sexism' as a 'happy accident', or appearing to be worse than it is, or what it's not, due to other environmental factors."

Penny frowned, starting to feel like something of an idiot. "Is everyone getting that vibe except for me?"

The group nodded, glancing at each other.

"Oh my…" Penny stood up. "I have to go." She moved toward the door. "I gotta…"

"Where are you going?" Bernadette asked, standing up.

"Don't ask her that," Amy said.

Howard's eyebrows furrowed. "Uh…why not?"

Amy looked confused. "Is this not the next game we are playing?"

"What game?" Leonard asked.

"I stand corrected," Amy said, reaching for her water. "Does anyone have any alcohol?"

"Sorry," Leonard said. "The Indian man passed out on the floor over there took it."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is the final chapter. I sincerely hope you enjoyed The Story of Penny. I tried to incorporate as many canon references as I could while using them to build a story that not only filled in the holes in Penny's background, but left her in a better place mentally and emotionally. Thank you to Roxanne and Amber for helping me out, both intentionally and unintentionally (I looked back on year old PMs with Amber when we were trying to make sense of Young!Penny). And thank you all for reading and reviewing.**

Penny moved across the hall and hurriedly shut her door, locking it and moving into her bedroom. She fell backwards onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, her hands on the sides of her eyes so she looked like a race horse wearing blinkers. The flashbacks were coming again. The bra, the broken tree, the store, the hushed voices, her father talking about 'him' being the most important. For the first time in her life she realized that the 'him' that was being referred to wasn't Evan. The conversation she'd overheard was the day Erin had shot Richard, and the 'him' that Wyatt was talking about was Teddy, her little nephew who never did figure out how she got his nose.

"I am such an idiot," she said to herself, blowing a breath out through her teeth_. Was this just me? The whole time?_ "God," she said, covering her eyes.

She could see now that if her father hadn't taken that time, hadn't devoted those hours to Teddy, Erin and Richard might have lost him. Even if it was temporary, the experience would have changed him. Penny knew there were good foster homes out there, but she watched too much television that suggested otherwise to give them a positive connotation. She loved that boy more than almost everyone else in the world, and losing him would have hurt her terribly. She could see, too, that her father's actions toward her brother had probably kept him out of juvie. He hadn't given her that much focus because he trusted her and felt that she didn't need his guiding hand as much as the rest of the family. He had paid her the highest compliment, and she'd betrayed his trust time and time again.

"Penny?"

She sat up, wondering how Leonard got in. She shook her head, realizing he hadn't, and the sound was coming from outside her apartment door. She sighed and got up, unlocking the door and opening it just enough to stand in the threshold. "Hey."

"Can I come in?" he asked gently.

She looked at him for a long moment, and then sighed and stepped into him, curling her arms around his neck and giving a deep sigh as she felt his arms come around her. "I'm such an idiot."

"No you're not."

"You don't have to say that just because you're my boyfriend," she said.

"I'm not." He pulled away just enough to see her face. "An idiot wouldn't realize that their teenaged self could be improved upon."

She smiled. "I guess." She looked away for a moment, and then back. "But…" She trailed off, and Leonard cocked his head. "But why couldn't he recognize that I wasn't perfect? Why didn't he realize that I was getting into the wrong relationships, and I was drinking so young, and I kept having to take pregnancy tests…"

Leonard sighed. "I think he trusted you too much."

She cocked her head. "Explain, please?" She had a feeling that his opinion on the matter was nearly identical to her recent revelation, but she was still holding on to a false hope that she could be wrong, that this wasn't entirely her fault.

"Think about it," Leonard said. " Your sister would get drunk and use weapons. Your brother was sneaking around, falling in with the wrong crowd at an age that is way…way too young. That's his baby, his youngest, and a small child, practically an infant. You were his girl." He turned her head to face him. "His slugger. He thought he could afford to give the boys attention, because you were okay."

"That's taking me for granted." Penny said.

Leonard hesitated before agreeing. "But doesn't it make you feel kind of good?" He asked. "That he thought that highly of you? That he felt he could give you his trust? Of course he knows about your lying now, but back then, didn't he believe you? He bought all your stories because he didn't believe you would lie to him."

Penny pulled away from Leonard and stormed into her apartment, going into her bedroom and slamming the door. "What?" Leonard asked, following her and trying the door knob. Locked. He rapped at the door. "Penny!" She opened it and glared at him. "What did I say?" He asked.

"_But doesn't it make you feel kind of good? That he thought that highly of you? That he felt he could give you his trust and blah blah blabity blah_?" She mimicked. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? That I was my father's favorite? That he loved me no matter what? That all my assumptions were wrong, all of these years? That so many of my choices were based off of these assumptions that weren't actually true?" Her eyes were moist. "Can't you see? I let him down. And not by something I couldn't help, like being a girl. I did it all on my own." She turned, went over to the bed and crumpled down on it. "And after all that, he still loves me enough to want me to end up with someone like you." She covered her face with her hands. "I'm the worst daughter ever," she said. "And I got the greatest father."

Leonard looked down at his shoes, feeling like the person he was at that moment and the person Penny met years ago all at once. In a position that was all too familiar to him – not knowing what to say – Leonard came over to the bed and sat down on it, his knee just touching Penny's lower back. She rolled over and curled her arms around his, crying. He used his free hand to pull the hair from her eyes. "Your father will always love you. You know that."

"I'm calling him tomorrow," she said. "I have to. I have to tell him that I couldn't have turned out any better, and I had the potential to be so much worse."

"I'm sure he'd love to hear that," Leonard said gently.

She sat up and put her arms around his neck, pushing him into a lying position. He curled his arms around her and pulled her close to him, counting the number of times their differently paced breaths came in time with each other until she fell asleep. Twenty one. A Fibonacci number.

* * *

><p>Howard, Bernadette, and Amy glanced at the door off and on for nearly twenty minutes after Leonard ran after Penny. "They're not coming back," Howard declared.<p>

"Do you suspect that they are engaging in coitus?" Amy asked.

"Nah," Bernadette said. "They're probably asleep. "That said," she yawned. "We should probably go to bed, too."

"Okay, shweetie," Howard said, kissing her forehead. "Leonard's room is free."

"Sounds good," Bernadette said. "But we're just going to sleep in it, okay?"

"Of course," Howard said. "We can't do any more than that, not after what we did to his car."

* * *

><p>Amy watched Howard and Bernadette walk hand in hand down the hall. She looked toward the apartment door, where she knew, mere yards beyond it, were her bestie and Leonard. Raj was still passed out on the floor; every now and then his foot twitched. Amy looked at him for a moment, considering her intentions, and then lifted his feet up onto the couch. She moved around the coffee table and repeated the procedure with his head and shoulders. Moving around the table again, she tugged on his feet until he was solidly on the three cushions, his head away from the door.<p>

Amy rose, yawning herself. The traffic was probably cleared, but she was starting to feel her minor hangover starting and she needed sleep before she'd trust her cognitive functioning enough to drive home. So she headed for the hallway herself, knocking quietly once she reached the door.

Sheldon looked disoriented when he answered. "Hello, Amy."

"I need to sleep here."

Sheldon rubbed his eyes. "I'll make up the couch."

"Raj is on it," Amy said, looking past Sheldon toward his bed.

Sheldon's face stiffened. "What are you saying?"

"Sheldon, I have to work tomorrow, and if my brain is not functioning properly I won't be able to perform at the superior intellectual levels that I am used to."

Sheldon sighed. "You make a strong argument, Amy Farrah Fowler."

The two homo novi crossed the room and climbed into the bed. The bed was narrow, but luckily they were thin enough to occupy it without touching – as long as they didn't move.

"I think we can manage to sleep like this," Amy whispered.

"I can see it happening," Sheldon agreed. "But I'm warning you right now, if I fall out of bed and get a bruise, you're going to have to answer to my mother."


End file.
